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Saturday, May 11, 2013

Welcome to the final stop on the Fiery Edge of Steel virtual book tour, hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. Author Jill Archer is promoting her latest book in her Noon Onyx series and has been sharing a new excerpt of the first chapter every day on the tour, read on for the last sneak peek and don't forget to enter the giveaway! ;)

Grateful for its unoccupied silence, I took refuge in the
stacks of Corpus Justica, our law library. I strode past the lone desk clerk,
avoiding his eyes and hoping my face didn’t appear red and splotchy. I took the
stairs to the second floor study carrels two at a time and made my way back to
the one I usually used—a tiny desk set in a far corner of the unpopular tithing
and tax section. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten there was a small window in this
part of the library, one that overlooked Timothy’s Square. I’d never given the
window much thought before, but now I wished fervently that it wasn’t there.
Why hadn’t I kept running? Why had I taken refuge in the academic heart of the
very place I despised?

I walked over to the window, wrestled with the catch, and
then pressed it wide open. Jezebeth’s bloody, steaming corpse lay sprawled on
the wooden platform as the crowd dispersed. People’s expressions varied. Some
were disgusted, others were shocked, a few just looked confused. Something must
have happened to have brought such a quick end to the Carne Vale. But instead of feeling relieved that Jezebeth’s
suffering was over, I felt miserable.

I couldn’t see Ari and wondered if he was on his way to
find me. Part of me wished he wouldn’t (what was I supposed to say to him about
what had just happened?) but the other half acknowledged that I’d run here
because it was the first place he’d look. Just as I was about to close the
window, I saw the taupe-eyed Angel—the one who’d asked me if I could, or would,
execute Jezebeth alone and in cold blood. He stood at the edge of the square,
staring up at me, his hands still in his pockets, his expression contemplative.

I guess he had his answer.

Suddenly, I remembered the cry that had first started the
Apocalypse: Beware! Angels at the gate!

Lucifer and his army triumphed at Armageddon, leaving humans and demons living in uncertain peace based on sacrifice and strict laws. It is up to those with mixed demon and human blood, the Host, to prevent society from falling into anarchy.

Noon Onyx is the first female Host in memory to wield the destructive waning magic that is used to maintain order among the demons. Her unique abilities, along with a lack of control and a reluctance to kill, have branded her as an outsider among her peers. Only her powerful lover, Ari Carmine, and a roguish and mysterious Angel, Rafe Sinclair, support her unconventional ways.

When Noon is shipped off to a remote outpost to investigate several unusual disappearances, a task that will most likely involve trying and killing the patron demon of that area, it seems Luck is not on her side. But when the outpost settlers claim that an ancient and evil foe has stepped out of legend to commit the crimes, Noon realizes that she could be facing something much worse than she ever imagined.…

Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow…the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, the world from slipping back into chaos.

Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer’s warlords. Noon has a secret—she was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of and some will consider her an abomination.

Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer’s, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there…or attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine—who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own—Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life.

Jill Archer is the author of Dark Light of Day, the first book in the Noon Onyx series. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jill now lives in rural Maryland with her two children and her husband, who is a recreational pilot. She blogs about books, movies, interesting people, and various weekend adventures.

9 comments:

Stopping by to say hello to everyone here at Romancing the Dark Side and to thank Lori for hosting Part Six.

Thank you, everyone, for following along on the tour. Noon, obviousy, has a long journey ahead of her, emotionally, magically, and geographically. Hopefully I piqued your interest enough to continue reading so that you can see where she ultimately ends up in the final pages.

A big thank you to Roxanne Rhoads at Bewitching Book Tours for organizing this mini-tour, to each of the blog hosts, to all of the wonderful commenters, and to everyone who helped get the word out about Fiery Edge of Steel’s upcoming release. Your help and support is much appreciated!

Good luck, best wishes, and happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Lisa, your comment made me laugh. :-) On a more serious note, there are lots of lawyers out there who are very kind and selfless. In fact, one of them is my guest blogger today (Grace Burrowes, NYT bestselling author, foster care lawyer, and single mom who wrote a terrific post celebrating motherhood for mother's day). Check it out if you're interested.

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